the unknown & the unnamed
by thelazykittypet
Summary: Inspired by the song "A Tale of Six Trillion Years and One Night", this story tells the tale of a cursed cat who only wanted a normal life... (Contains gore, abusive themes, and strong language)
1. Prologue

Pain.

Torment.

Agony.

That is the story of my life.

Ever since the day I was born, I have known nothing but pain.

Ever since those fearful cries that echoed around me, when they had first seen me curled up against my mother's belly.

"This kit is cursed! He will bring death to us all!"

They were right... but so very, terribly wrong.

It is true that I am cursed. It is true that I have a formidable dark power hiding in me, and that I could kill them all if I were able to properly harness it.

Yet they seem to be blind to the fact that I didn't ask for any of this.

I'm still a cat, just like the rest of them. I could talk and play with the apprentices, train up to become a warrior, follow in the faith of StarClan, and everything else that a normal Clan member would do; if only they would let me.

But when they look at me, they don't see a normal Clan member. All they can see is the evil within my soul, and none of the goodness inside my heart.

I didn't want to be born with this curse, nor did I ever have any intent of using this power against my Clan. I didn't want them to fear me like this.

I just wanted to be normal. I wanted a normal life. Was that too much to ask for?

But they don't understand that. They never did, and they never will.

Instead, they keep me here, on the floor of this cold, musty den, my paws bound tightly together with vines to prevent me from escaping this nightmare; even if I somehow managed to cut them off, there were always two guards outside my den to recapture me if I tried to leave.

Nothing could ever convince them to let me go free. Death will be my one and only salvation.

But they know this. They know that if I die, I'll go back to the Dark Forest where I could plant seeds of malice among the Clan and cause havoc and chaos... though I would never even dream of doing such a thing.

So they keep me here, to make my life as long and painful as they can... or to "keep my powers under control," as they call it.

A few times every moon, some warriors from the Clan will come into my den. And they find sport in doing awful, detestable things to me; not even the Dark Forest itself, ironically, had ever done anything as evil as this.

They tear away at my flesh. They rip out chunks of my fur. They spill my blood all over the floor of the den, the stains serving as a harsh reminder of all the torture they have put me through.

And if they're feeling especially malicious, they'll beat me until I'm just a whisker's length away from death; only to let me live, so that they can do it all again later.

Every warrior in the Clan has done this to me at least once. Even my mother, who never even tried to defend me when I was born, to show them how harmless I really was-instead, she cast me away to this sick, twisted life, leaving me to question whether she had ever loved me as her own for even one heartbeat...

...Who am I kidding. She never saw me as a son, or even as a cat. She only saw an evil curse, just like the rest of them. And yet, that never stopped me from seeing her as a mother... which only made the wounds she gave me feel deeper than all the others.

I only ever spoke up to them once. I had foolishly tried to reason with them, to try and convince them that I would never bring them any harm.

They responded by cutting off a piece of my tongue, threatening to remove more if I ever dared to speak to them again.

I pray that one day, one of the warriors will go too far and kill me by accident... but at this rate, it seems like nothing but a false hope. These cats will do whatever it takes to keep me alive.

They give me just enough food and water. They heal my wounds with herbs. They even cure me when I fall sick from all the moons of blood, vomit, and other revolting things that infect the air of the den. All of which they give me by force.

I had already resigned myself long ago to the fact that this would continue until the day I finally died of age, thinking no cat in the Clan would ever have the mercy to end my suffering, one way or another.

Then, one day, everything changed.

The day that I met her.


	2. Chapter 1

"And this here is the cursed cat," I hear the leader say, the mere sound of his voice striking fear within me and making my heart pound. "We keep him here like this, to stop him from killing every cat in the forest."

"Oh my God... I-I've never seen a cat in such terrible shape! Look at him! He's covered in blood and scars, half his tail is gone... What the hell are you doing to this poor cat?"

The second voice was one that I had never heard before; upon opening my eye, I saw that the source was a beautiful, gray she-cat with long fur. And something about her reaction sparked within me, causing an overwhelming wave of emotions that I had never felt before.

Is... is this what it feels like to have another cat... actually care about me?

"Alright, look..." the leader continued, his voice developing a stern edge. "Maybe you didn't hear what I said earlier. This cat has the power to kill you, me, and every other cat here in an instant! This is the only way we can keep him under control!"

"And how exactly do you know he has this power?" the she-cat yelled, her claws beginning to protrude from their sheaths. "And if he's so dangerous, why not just kill him instead of-of this!?"

"You wouldn't understand. Kittypets aren't educated in this sort of stuff," the leader scoffed, seemingly unfazed by the she-cat's burst of anger. "I'll fill you in on everything tomorrow, after you get your warrior name. Or, if this is so important to you, you can go back to the twolegplace where you came from. It really doesn't matter."

The she-cat gave a quiet sigh, staring at the dark-stained ground beneath her paws. "Fine. Whatever. I'll trust that your explanation will be at least somewhat believable. Now, show me around the rest of the camp."

The two cats turned and padded out of the den, their pelts visibly touching; leaving me to wonder what this new arrival meant for me.

Would she be able to convince the Clan to treat me better-perhaps even let me go? Would she even try?

Or would she be sucked down into their beliefs completely, and join in on this malicious game?

All I could do was wait and see.


	3. Chapter 2

I had went to sleep as normal that night, expecting another thrashing the next day judging by how far my wounds had healed. But I found myself awoken by a strange noise outside the den, followed closely by another; it sounded as if one of the cats outside had tried to cry out for only half a heartbeat, before the bones in his neck were crushed by a set of powerful jaws.

What's happening? Are we under attack?

The camp fell silent again, however, save for the sound of quiet pawsteps outside; pawsteps that were much too light to be those of a predator, and could only belong to another cat.

But who would be up at this time, except for the guards?

As if in response, a large, gray shape came running into my den, carrying a rather large rabbit in its mouth.

Oh... It's the new cat from this afternoon. What's she doing here?

"Alright, hold still. Let's make this as quick as we can," the gray she-cat meowed, dropping the rabbit and unsheathing a set of surprisingly large claws that looked sharp enough to cut through rock.

I reflexively shrunk back at seeing the powerful claws, having known only the pain of torn flesh to follow such a sight; but instead, I felt the grip around my paws begin to loosen as she effortlessly cut through the vines that tied them together, instantly causing my heart to rise up with excitement.

No way... Did she actually... free me?

"Now, eat this rabbit and recover some of your strength," she whispered firmly, pushing the fresh-kill towards my face. "I bet they haven't given you this much to eat in forever, have they?"

That was definitely true; my stomach was growling loudly just from looking at the rabbit. I waste no time in devouring as much of it as I could, feeling several times more energetic and alive by the time I was finished.

"I still can't believe it..." the she-cat growled under her breath. "These cats are fucking monsters if they think they're justified in doing this to you! Tell me... why do these cats think you could kill them all? You don't seem dangerous to me in the slightest!"

Despite what the she-cat had done for me, I found myself unable to tell her the truth. How would she react if I told her that I really did have the power to kill them all? Would she turn around and end up hurting me like the rest of them?

"You know what? It doesn't matter," the she-cat meowed suddenly, rising to her paws. "It's time for us to get the hell out of this place."

"Huh? Us?" I whisper, my voice naturally faint after moons of nothing but screaming in pain. "You're leaving too? Didn't you just arrive earlier today?"

The gray she-cat gave a disappointed sigh. "I didn't think I'd be leaving so soon, either. You see, I fell in love with your leader a few moons ago, and after a while he offered me the chance to join his Clan. Naturally, I accepted right away, hoping that the two of us could start a new life together, perhaps even raise a family... But after seeing you here, and the things that he allowed his Clan to do to you, I came to realize that he has no regard at all for what others are feeling. He is just a soulless cat who doesn't actually care about anyone other than himself. And it hurts so much because I still love him, even after you've opened up my eyes to the truth, but... But I can't be in a relationship with a cat like him... Not again."

I noticed a single tear fall from the she-cat's face as she spoke, and I stopped myself from asking any questions about her previous relationship.

Eventually she looked up back at me again, her eyes only slightly damp.

"If you're just about ready, we can leave anytime. My name is Samantha, by the way. What's your name?"

It was a question that no cat had ever asked me before... and a question that I could never properly answer.

"I... I don't have a name," I whisper. "My mother never gave me one."

"Are you serious?! Holy shit, this place is even worse than I thought!" Samantha hissed, visibly struggling to refrain from shouting in anger. "Let's get out of here. You okay to walk?"

"I... I think so..." I reply, even though the truth was that I hadn't walked a single pawstep since I was thrown in the den, and my legs-though still usable-felt like dry twigs underneath me.

"Good. Then let's go."

I slowly follow Samantha to the entrance of the den, where she carefully took a quick look around for any other cats that had woken up. Luckily, however, there were no signs of any activity in the camp except for the two of us.

The two of us emerged from the den, making sure to make as little noise as possible. I found it rather difficult to control my excitement as I took in all the sights and sounds of the outside world for the first time in my life-an experience that I was long overdue for.

This is... incredible! I've never tasted air this fresh before... This dirt is so much softer than the rock floor in the den... And the stars look so pretty! I had no idea that I was missing out on so much-Whoa! What the-!

It was then that I noticed the two cats that had been assigned to guard my den, their faces eternally frozen in shock and their necks viciously torn open; the fatal wounds were still slowly leaking blood onto the ground.

Samantha stopped and laughed silently when she noticed my shocked expression as I stared down at the guard's body beside me.

"You're probably wondering how I managed this," she purred. "You remember how I mentioned I was in a terrible relationship before? Well, a while ago I managed to come across a cat who happened to be very skilled with attacks-I think he even said he came from one of these Clan things. After I told him about my relationship, he agreed to teach me everything that he knew in secret. It wasn't long before I had mastered almost all of his attack moves.

"And as for the cruel tom I was with, well..." She paused briefly to glance down at the guard's mangled corpse. "Let's just say that this is nothing compared to what I did to that bastard. I almost feel sorry for his owners; though by the time I saw them again they already had a new cat... And a new carpet..."

I couldn't tell if she had said anything after that, as all my attention had been stolen by the emotions that welled up inside me. Despite having known Samantha for less than a day, I found myself growing closer and closer to her, as if she were the only other cat I had ever met in my life. Perhaps it was the mere fact that she had broken me out of that horrible den, or maybe it was her formidable strength and willpower that enthralled me.

But it didn't matter. I didn't even care. Because for the first time in my life, I felt safe.

I felt comforted.

But most of all... I felt happy.

And I wanted it to last forever.


	4. Epilogue

It's been five moons since we left the Clan, and my life is now the opposite of what it was before.

Samantha brought me back to her owners, who took me in as one of their own without a second thought. They took to me to a strange place where some twolegs fixed my wounds and scars as best as they could. It took a while to get adjusted to my newly repaired body, but before long I was hopping and dancing around like a kit chasing a butterfly.

I now have the name Tommy, which was given to me by the twolegs. Samantha says she would have named me Charlie instead, and she could still technically call me that since the twolegs wouldn't know. But she stuck with the twolegs' name so that she wouldn't confuse me.

Samantha is always by my side, sticking to me like honey whenever we leave the twoleg den. Though we never go far if the scent of Clan cats is fresh in the air, she is always ready to protect me in case anything should happen.

It didn't take long for the bond between us to grow, and I eventually told her how I felt during one of our walks through the twolegplace. Her reaction was absolutely priceless; the vibrant smile on her face, the excitement in her eyes, and the pure joy in her voice... I can still remember it like it happened a heartbeat ago.

I knew from that reaction that I had finally repaid Samantha for saving me from the camp. We had both given each other the proper life that we wanted, and we would both ensure that nothing would ever come between us and sever that connection.

But our lives were about to get even better, because a few days ago, our beautiful daughter

Grace was born. She is the spitting image of her mother, with the same elegant gray coat and beautiful green eyes. The twolegs, by pure chance, gave her the name Grace as well, which according to Samantha is a sign that the kit will live a long and healthy life.

And as for my curse, well... Nothing has changed. The dark power still sleeps within me, beckoning me to unleash it. But I have no reason to do that, now that I am here with everything I ever wanted in life.

Even after I die and return to the Dark Forest, I will not use the power to destroy the Clan. That was never my intention, and I will keep it that way forever. Instead, I will let the Clan prosper and grow the way it does now, and when my former Clanmates see that I never had any ill will towards the Clan, they will know how wrong they were to treat me in the way they did. And that, in my opinion, is a better revenge than throwing the Clan into chaos.

But that time, of course, is very distant from now.

At this moment, all that really matters is that I have a life fitting for a cat. I have an amazing mate that loves me, a wonderful daughter that looks up to me, and kindhearted twolegs that take care of all of us.

After all this time... I finally have happiness.

And happiness is something that no cat should go without... no matter how evil they appear to be.


End file.
